Cronenworth Inks Deal with Tampa Bay Rays
6/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 12, 2015
TAMPA, Fla. -- Junior second baseman Jacob Cronenworth of the University of Michigan baseball team has signed a contract to play professionally with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Cronenworth will forego his final year of eligibility with the Wolverines.
Cronenworth was selected by the Rays in the seventh round (208th pick) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 9. He will report to Hudson Valley, the Rays' Short-Season A affiliate that plays in the New York-Penn League.
Cronenworth played and started in all 180 games in his Michigan career and is a two-time All-Big Ten second team honoree and the 2015 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player. The St. Clair, Michigan, native is a lifetime .312 hitter with 36 doubles, nine triples, 10 home runs and 117 runs batted in with the Maize and Blue. He led the Big Ten with 91 hits and 62 runs scored this season and also finished ninth in the league with a .338 batting average. His eight saves led the Wolverines and tied for fifth in the Big Ten. Four of those saves occurred in the Big Ten Tournament, including one in the 4-3 win over Maryland in the championship game. Cronenworth had a team-best 30 multi-hit games and had a 22-game reached-base streak earlier in the season.
Cronenworth etched his name in the U-M record books as he is second in career saves (27) and tied for 13th in career hits (211).
Communications Contact: Kent Reichert (734) 763-4423
